From Another Angle
by Rhianwen
Summary: Sometimes people surprise you." DrakeWendy. Vaguely AU. Drake's POV. Takes place somewhere between Episode 23 and Episode 24.


From Another Angle

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Summary: "Sometimes people surprise you." Drake/Wendy. Vaguely AU. Drake's POV. Takes place somewhere between Episode 23 and Episode 24.

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Disclaimer: I don't own them, and I KNOW the creator would look at me funny for this one:)

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Sometimes people surprise you.

Sure, it's one of the biggest clichés ever, but hell, I figure clichés are clichés for a reason. Things aren't overused unless they work, right? Even if the words have lost all meaning after being repeated millions of times, there's still some truth in there somewhere.

People do surprise you sometimes. They turn out smarter than you thought, or dumber than you thought, or better-looking than you thought when they get a haircut and take a shower for once.

Or more cold-blooded than you thought.

It sure as hell surprised me a lot to find out some of the things you've done.

Seriously. Ordering a swarm of armed men in ugly hats to attack a group of women and a kid? Causing public panic with a massive bonfire in the middle of a big city? Real bright, kiddo. Do the words "Fire Hazard" mean anything to you?

Shooting people? Shooting _Yomiko?_ I'm not a fool; I know you've fired that thing before. You don't get aim like that by carrying it in your purse to feel tough. But I didn't expect you to pull it off so…coldly. You looked like a robot, Wendy, and it scared the hell out of me. Because it _wasn't you_.

And maybe that's why I can't hate you for it, even though I've seen the pain that you've helped to cause all of these girls: because I know that it's not really you. The woman that I saw order the forceful capture of innocent women and then fire on a girl trying to protect her friends was a stranger, and maybe if she was a stranger, the woman who's been going along with Joker's insane plans, helping to make all this happen, was the same stranger, and she wasn't you, either.

I thought you were gone completely, and I wondered what the hell Joker's been doing to you the past five years – like I needed more reasons to hate him. Then, when you came to make the exchange, I expected to see that other woman, that stranger, again.

And you showed up instead. Because you wouldn't hurt innocent people just because they got in your way, and the woman I saw there when you came with the helicopters and the soldiers and the bright lights to collect Joker wouldn't turn herself inside out like that out of concern for someone else.

I can respect that you were trying to keep him safe, even if I have to wonder where you thought you got off throwing a goddamned impostor at us. Christ; show some originality.

But at least I know that you're still in there somewhere.

Huh. I guess anyone would be asking right now, how I can claim that I know what is or isn't really you. From where they were sitting, we just happened to work for the same organization, and we saw each other once in a blue moon when too much was going on for us to talk anyway.

But they didn't see everything from where they were sitting. Like that damned Christmas party seven or eight years ago. They didn't see us sneaking away early because we were both sick of loud music and loud laughter and _Christmas cheer_, and neither of us could remember why the hell we'd gone in the first placeI was surprised, because I never saw you without that sweet little smile of yours when things were bad, and it seemed weird that it should vanish now that they were finally good. I guess everyone gets sick of smiling, though, and maybe that's why I asked if you wanted to take off.

You know, that and the short tight little red dress you had on. I really hope you still have that thing – it's definitely a keeper.

They didn't see us walking around the block until we were both half frozen and I had to drag you into that restaurant and feed you three glasses of wine before you stopped shivering enough to tell me you preferred beer. Then you had to order it, because I was laughing too hard. And we drank beer all night, and you told me that you love Christmas, but you always decorate a cactus because a Christmas tree attacked you once when you were a kid, and you think cactuses are more loveable anyway. I'd like to know what comedian you swiped that bit from to get a laugh from your dates. Maybe it's not that funny and you need some new material, but I sure felt like laughing when you gave me that expectant little smile, waiting to see if I thought you were funny.

They didn't see the little changes after that, either. They didn't see us meeting before and after missions when I had a free second before my flight home. They didn't see you driving me to the airport to _see me off_. They didn't see me trying and failing every now and again to get in touch with you after the library burned down and you all as good as dropped off the face of the earth until it was time to resurface and raise Hell.

They didn't see me falling for you.

I guess I can't blame them; you didn't see that, either. Somehow, you looked at the evidence – you know; I always called you up whenever I was in town, sent you those stupid ceramic dogs you liked so much for your birthdays, wore that godawful red scarf you made me until it fell apart – and came to the conclusion that I had a thing for Yomiko.

What. The Hell.

If I've ever heard something more totally out there in my life, I can't remember it right now, that's for damn sure. I thought you were kidding at first, or just saying it to take the focus off of the fact that I guessed dead-on that you're crazy about Joker.

Shit, why didn't you just ask me if I had a thing for him, if you wanted to really miss the point?

I don't know how I could have made it any clearer without writing it on my forehead. I've never thought of myself as subtle, but apparently I was too subtle for you to catch a goddamn hint.

Maybe you would have, if we'd had more time. Or if I'd hurried the hell up and told you when I had the chance. Before you dropped off the face of the earth like that.

But of all people, Yomiko got it. Yomiko Lives-in-a-Book Readman, who wouldn't come to terms with her own feelings for Makuhari, or for Nenene Sumiregawa, or for Makuhari again the second time, got it.

I bet you wouldn't have expected that either.

Nah, you'd probably say, _it makes sense, because she reads enough to know the formulas._

Sounds like something you'd say. Right up there with _what about you, Drake? **You're** crazy about Yomiko!_

God…talk about completely missing the point. Bonehead.

After you left with Joker and all the helicopters and the rest of that damn circus you dragged out there to distract us from that cheap trick you pulled with the Mirror Man disguised as Nenene, we talked a little bit about it - well, _she_ talked about it while I tried to play dumb - along with the important things that needed to be discussed and decided.

She said she felt awful for me, because it must have been hard seeing you like that. But she still thought I should have said something. I asked her, like what? Anything, she said. I should have told you that you were on the wrong side, even though she tried it and got a hole in her arm for her trouble, because you would listen to me more than you listened to her.

Yeah, right. There's one person you listen to, only one person you've ever really listened to, and when I last saw you, you had your arms around him and this look of big-eyed concern when he ran those last few steps to safety and tripped. I swear, I'm going to remember until the end of my days how damn satisfying it was to plant my fist in the side of his face. I'll bet you made an adorable little nurse, fussing over it and getting ice packs and putting on a Band-Aid. Sickening.

I wouldn't think that if it was me you were petting and kissing better.

I'm a damn hypocrite, okay?

And you're a stubborn little brat, who wouldn't have listened if I'd told you. You wouldn't have listened if I'd told you that Joker was a crackpot, or that this whole plan of his was insane, or that he didn't give a damn about you or anyone else – hell, you probably know that already.

I wonder if you'd have listened if I'd made a jackass of myself and told you…everything else.

In the middle of a crowd, bright lights all around, tensions running high as two sides of a conflict face off, the ill-fated lovers reunite. It's dramatic, sure, but that sort of shit only works when the other person feels the same, and usually not even then.

And even if I thought you did, I wouldn't have done it. There's too much happening right now, and there's no time to act like lovesick idiots.

As great as it would be to get a goddamned happy ending for once, this isn't our story.

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End Notes: Okay; this is a sort-of-AU piece, in that I don't _really_think that Drake and Wendy were ever interacting like this behind the scenes. But in Episode 17 or 18 (I can't remember which), Drake indirectly referred to her as a friend. This got me thinking, as Drake doesn't seem like the sort who would call someone a friend without good reason. So, I wondered if there was, at the very least, more going on between these two than we ever saw. Not only that, but they remind me of a lot of other pairings I really like, and while I stil prefer Joker/Wendy, and long to try Drake/Michelle if I can ever get up off my butt and _do_ it, I'm pretty fond of the idea of these two together. 

Oh, right; and the little hint of Drake/Yomiko slipped into the mix reflects that I love the idea of these two together, even if there are about fifteen people I prefer her with (Nenene, Nancy, Donny...okay, maybe only three). And at least four people I prefer him with (Michelle (squee!), Nancy, Alice, Wendy).

So, I hope you enjoyed this big mish-mash of incoherency, and I'd love to hear what you thought.

Not that I'm begging for reviews, or anything. :D


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